March of Dimes: Helping Babies Get a Healthy Start in Life
March of Dimes supports mothers and babies across the United States, helping them access services, support, and health care. In this article, we look at the history of the organization, and the important work it carries out supporting families across America.
Annually, around 500,000 US babies are born prematurely or with birth defects.
Premature birth, or birth before the 37th week of pregnancy, and the complications caused by it are the leading cause of death of US babies. Infants who survive premature birth often experience long-term health problems, such as chronic lung disease, blindness, hearing loss, intellectual disabilities, and cerebral palsy.
Around 380,000 babes are born prematurely in the United States every year. This equates to 9.8% of all births, or almost 1 in 10 babies. The United States has one of the highest incidences of preterm births of all developed nations.
March of Dimes aims to reduce premature births through its Prematurity Campaign.
Launched on January 30, 2003, the March of Dimes Prematurity Campaign was implemented to raise public awareness of the health risks and complications associated with premature birth. The Campaign’s goal is to:
Encourage public and private investment in research to identify causes of premature birth.
Encourage similar investment in research to identify, develop, and test promising interventions.
Provide emotional support and information to families affected by premature birth.
Educate women on the signs of premature labor.
Share risk-reduction strategies.
Advocate to expand health care access and coverage to improve care for both mothers and babies.
Help health care providers address risk factors and improve risk detection.
Unfortunately, not all babies get the best start in life. Although the US preterm birth rate fell in the first decade of the 21st century, it rose by 2% between 2015 and 2016. This was the second consecutive annual increase.
The March of Dimes Premature Birth Report Card shows geographical, ethnic, and racial disparities in premature birth rates. A mother’s zip code, ethnicity, and race all have an impact on her risk of giving birth prematurely. The organization is committed to giving every US mother the best possible chance of a full-term pregnancy.
March of Dimes launched the Prematurity Campaign Collaborative in 2017.
The Collaborative’s primary objectives are to address rising preterm birth rates and health inequalities in the US. The initiative brought together leading experts and organizations to look at ways to achieve equity and improvements in preterm birth rates. The Collaborative now has 480 member organizations and 700 individual members who work together to identify the causes of racial and ethnic disparities in premature birth rates, and find solutions to these problems.
March of Dimes has helped millions of US babies to survive and thrive.
Over the last 80 years, the organization has helped mothers and babies, irrespective of demographics like age, race, and socio-economic background. It supports mothers throughout pregnancy, and provides vital services when things do not go to plan. March of Dimes advocates for maternal health and champions radical health care improvements. It also pioneers research on solutions to the most serious health threats to mothers and infants.
The organization was originally called the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis.
Originally established in 1938, the organization was created by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who became paralyzed in 1921 after contracting a disease thought to be polio. (It may have been another paralytic illness.) Outbreaks of polio ravaged the US in the first half of the 1900s, killing thousands and crippling hundreds of thousands. The Foundation pioneered polio vaccine research, and helped bring about the eradication of the disease in the United States.
After polio was no longer a threat in the US, the Foundation shifted its focus to other health threats faced by mothers and infants, developing groundbreaking innovations such as newborn screening, folic acid supplementation, and surfactant therapy.
The organization is committed to guiding mothers through every step of the pregnancy journey and fighting for the rights of the youngest among us. March of Dimes’ advocacy and support creates the technology, tools, and knowledge required to help babies get the best possible start in life.
The US is one of the most dangerous developed countries in which to give birth.
Every 12 hours, a woman dies from pregnancy-related complications in the United States. On average, a baby dies every 30 minutes. Statistics like these are shocking—especially considering America’s wealth—but with ongoing support, March of Dimes is doing something about it.
For example, the organization has brought these shameful statistics to the broader public on social media and other channels through the hashtag #ItsNotFine. The phrase is also meant to empower women to stick up for themselves and their babies by challenging those who brush off their potentially serious symptoms during pregnancy with a dismissive “You’ll be fine.” With this campaign, March of Dimes is sending the message that maternal health care in the US is not fine—but it can be, with greater public awareness, financial support for research, and better prenatal and postpartum care for women.
March of Dimes also has a global reach.
The organization has responded to the needs of mothers and infants at a global level since the 1940s. It is internationally renowned for making vital contributions to policies and programs that improve health care for infants and mothers. It also sponsors international conferences that benefit participants from low- and middle-income countries. March of Dimes was recently acknowledged by the World Health Organization (WHO) for its significant contribution to the advancement of public health when WHO awarded it the status of “non-state actor.” This status is reserved for reputable NGOs and other organizations who uphold the principles, purposes, and spirit of WHO’s constitution.
Get involved
To see how you can support March of Dimes and better care for moms and babies, go to marchofdimes.org.
